UNLV women’s comeback falls short in seven-point loss to Arizona State

It took until the dying minutes Tuesday night, but the UNLV Lady Rebels suffered their first loss at The Pavilion this season, falling 65-58 to the Arizona State Sun Devils, the former program of senior guard Marley Washenitz.

Amid uncertainty surrounding the NCAA’s five-for-five eligibility rule, the 5-foot-7 Fairmont, West Virginia, native was granted an additional year of eligibility through an injunction tied to the Glancey v. NCAA case in California in October, leading to her transfer to UNLV.

Last season, during her lone year with the Sun Devils, Washenitz started 35 games while averaging 7.9 points and 3.7 rebounds per game and shooting 36.8% from the field. She also knocked down the game-winning 3-pointer in Arizona State’s game with the Lady Rebels.

In 28 minutes of action Tuesday, Washenitz recorded 12 points, six rebounds and four steals against her former team. She has averaged eight points through three games this season.

The Lady Rebels had three players finish in double figures, led by junior guard Jasmyn Lott, who scored 16 points while shooting 45.5% from the field. Meadow Rowland finished with 11 points.

Lott has led the program in scoring over the last two games and coach Lindy La Rocque believes her confidence is continuing to grow.

“I think last game helped (Lott) for sure,” La Rocque said. “I think it is our staff and her just believing in us when we’re telling her things and hopefully each game that confidence continues to build because we need her to be aggressive and look to score.”

The story of the first half for the Lady Rebels was their shooting inefficiency, especially around the basket. UNLV converted 9 of 33 field-goal attempts through the first two quarters, including 4 of 25 inside the 3-point line.

“I actually think we got great looks in the first half. We just didn’t make them,” La Rocque said. “If anything, I encouraged our players.

“Just because we didn’t make them, we can’t stop shooting them. That was what they were giving us, so we had to be willing to shoot.”

However, the Rebels’ 3-point shooting kept the game within reach.

The Lady Rebels made five of 18 attempts from beyond the arc, including three of their first five in the opening 20 minutes.

Despite committing seven turnovers in the first half, Arizona State outrebounded UNLV 24-18 and shot 44% from the field to carry a 32-24 halftime lead.

The momentum shifted entering the third quarter as the Lady Rebels converted 8 of 15 shots and ignited a 14-3 scoring run, pulling to within 48-46.

However, three fourth-quarter turnovers and seven personal fouls proved costly. The Sun Devils converted 6 of 10 free-throw attempts in the final 10 minutes as the Lady Rebels’ comeback attempt fell short.

Despite the loss, La Rocque emphasized the importance of playing high-level competition.

“Obviously, it was a tale of two halves of offensive efficiency for sure,” La Rocque said. “We want to win these games, and you can’t win these games if we don’t play them. We try to give our team great opportunities against really good opponents.

“We’re not totally disappointed in our play. We just want to do a couple things better.”